This one’s for you. Yes, You, who fear the oven in general but especially when the holiday pressure is on. You, who are joining your friends for a Friendsgiving and have never made a pie before. You, who are too busy with work and kids and life and think you don’t have time to cook anything, ever, never mind a 20 pound bird.
Galettes, or free-form pies, are just that – they’re a bunch of pie filling piled in a crust and thrown in the oven without a care for crimped edges or lattice tops. They’re pies for lazy people. And somehow, through some magical je ne sais quoi, their free-formness is transformed into rustic beauty in the oven. They are truly lovely, taste just like a traditional apple pie, and come together in half the time without all the fuss.
For this apple galette, I’ve adapted Deborah Madison’s galette dough and Cook’s Illustrated apple filling. Both are quick to put together, and you can prepare them a day or two in advance of Thanksgiving and store them in the fridge. If you have time and are up for something a little more ambitious, this honey sea salt pie from Brooklyn’s Four & Twenty Blackbirds is always a hit, and DC’s pie blogger Emily from Nothing In The House has an endless supply of creative and approachable recipes. Also check out Brooklyn blogger Yossy’s archive of pies, breads, puddings and snacks that would gorgeously grace any Thanksgiving table.
apple galette
For the galette dough:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
pinch of salt
1 T sugar
12 T cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water as needed, with a squeeze of half a lemon in it
Mix the dry ingredients in the bowl, and cut in the butter, leaving some pea-sized chunks. Sprinkle the ice water/lemon juice mixture over the flour mixture and mix with a rubber spatula until it just starts to come together. Form the dough into a ball, press into a disk, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15+ minutes. While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling.
For the apple filling:
4 baking apples, like Granny Smiths
1 T fresh lemon juice
3 T sugar
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/8 t ground cloves
sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg
Peel and slice the apples into eighths. Toss with the lemon juice, sugar, and spices. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
To form and bake the galette:
Preheat the oven to 375. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the galette dough into a 14 inch irregular circle. By folding it over into quarters as pictured below, transfer it to the back of an ungreased baking sheet and unfold it.
Spoon the apple filling into the center of the dough, leaving a 2-3 inch border around the apples. Gently fold sections of the dough over the apples, wetting your fingers and dabbing the dough to dampen it and keep the folds in place. Continue until the entire pastry is covering the filling, leaving an opening in the middle of the galette for the apples to show through. Brush the top of the pastry with water, melted butter or beaten egg, and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for about an hour until the crust is a dark golden brown and the apples are tender. Let cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before carefully transferring it to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Looks delicious! You are totally working the rustic look 🙂
yummy. i love new ideas for apples. i have sooooo many to get rid of
This looks wonderful and something I would definitely enjoy. I’m sure the whole grain rounds out the flavor nicely!
This takes away everything I don’t like about making pies and leaves just fun! I’m so excited to make these!!
I’ve been making these with roasted root vegetables,Delicious and a big hit. I have to try it this way,with lemon,(what an idea!) and with apples…fruit. Thanks.
Made this and my family gobbled it up in under 10 minutes!
hooray!! glad to hear it was a big success! i’ve added cranberries and pears to the filling before too, which is just as delicious.
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